1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a coupling structure of a hood lock stay which couples center portions of a radiator core support upper member and a radiator core support lower member of a radiator core support of a motor vehicle such as an automobile, the hood lock stay securing a hood lock to the upper portion thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional radiator core support for an automobile is disclosed for example in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Tokkai 2002-120760. This radiator core support is mainly composed of a radiator core support upper member extending in a transverse direction of the automobile and a radiator core support lower member running parallel thereto under the same. A radiator core support side member couples the right and left ends of the radiator core support upper member and those of the radiator core support lower member with each other. A hood lock stay couples each center portion of the radiator core support upper member and the radiator core support lower member with each other.
However, in the radiator core support in the prior art, the upper portion of the hood lock stay and the radiator core support upper member are secured to each other with their surfaces being appressed to each other. Therefore, stiffness shows a tendency to lower around the coupled part of the radiator core support upper member with the hood lock stay. As a result, at the time, for example, of a safety inspection of a motor vehicle, when an inspector put his/her hand on the radiator core support upper member with his/her weight thereon, the lack of stiffness is a problem.
Further, with the hood lock stay of lower stiffness, it is impossible to secure the hood lock in a stable manner, so that there is a probability of causing a flip-flop of an engine hood and of lowering sound vibration performance while driving.